1. Field of the Invention
An object of the present invention is a binocular-type device enabling observation by day as well as by night.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, there are a certain number of daytime binoculars that display qualities of compactness through the use of Porro prisms of the first and second species, or else Pechan-Schmidt prisms.
In the same way, there are night vision binoculars, comprising one or two image intensifier tubes, enabling vision with an enlargement of 1 for driving, pathfinding or night tasks, or greater enlargement for night observation.
The combination of these two functions in a single piece of equipment would have obvious advantages for a military person since he has to carry a large number of instruments that hamper his mobility.
However, this would be true only if this day-and-night vision equipment were to offer a gain in weight and space factor a compared with two separate pieces of equipment, and if each of these combined functions were to retain a level of efficiency comparable to that of currently available equipment.
The present invention relates to a system such as this which, through a novel mechanical optical device, can be used to combine daytime and night observation in one and the same compact and light piece of equipment that meets every requisite military constraint (mechanical resistance, impermeability etc.) through a combination between a bi-objective daytime system associated with a mono-objective system for night vision, the two systems cooperating respectively with a binocular system.